Former England captain Michael Vaughan has criticized the Rajasthan Royals for their “timid” approach in the Indian Premier League 2022 final against the Gujarat Titans on May 29, in which they went down by seven wickets.
GT outplayed RR on either fronts in the IPL 2022 final at the Narendra Modi International Stadium to register a victory and lift the trophy in their maiden year of participation.
The Royals, who had opted to bat first, were kept in check right from the start, with GT seamers keeping Orange Cap holder Jos Buttler and the rest in check. The Titans’ skipper Hardik Pandya was the wrecker-in-chief, returning 3/17 in a four-over spell, which began with opposite number Sanju Samson’s scalp.
Buttler, who had held one end with a rather patient 39, became his second victim, edging one behind soon after Devdutt Padikkal had fallen to Rashid Khan after a nine-ball struggle.
Hardik then had Shimron Hetmyer caught off his own bowling to sink RR further at 94/5 at the end of 15 overs. They eventually crawled to 130/9 by the end of the 20th – a significantly below-par total against a side adept at chasing.
While speaking to Cricbuzz, ex-England skipper Michael Vaughan remarked that Rajasthan tried to play safe and cited it as a major reason for their downfall.
“Surprised by Rajasthan. They didn’t seem to play with any kind of bravery. I thought they were very timid. (Gujarat) bowling was very good. Hardik was excellent, he picked two key wickets. It’s a huge bonus for him as a captain.
“There was nothing really. It was almost like they were trying to play safe, trying to reach 150-160. From what I saw from Rajasthan’s point of view, they seemed to be a little bit of afraid to be brave and that can cost you in a final.”
Gujarat eventually chased the target down with seven wickets and 11 balls to spare, despite being reduced to 23/2 in the fifth over, with Shubman Gill (45* off 43), Hardik (34 off 30) and David Miller (32* off 19) being the major contributors.
